The present invention relates to a horticultural planter and more specifically to such a planter having a liner which includes an integral water tray.
Planters in the form of hanging baskets have been utilized by home gardeners, horticultural professionals and enthusiasts for growing a variety of decorative and other plants. These planters typically include a steel or otherwise rigid basket which forms a generally open semi-circular structure. Inside the basket, a material which allows the passage of air such as sphagnum moss is utilized for lining the open basket structure. Applying the sphagnum moss usually entails taking dried moss, which is brittle and crumbly, and soaking it in water to make it sufficiently pliable to mold it around the interior of the basket. This process has been found to be time consuming and often times results in inconsistent functional properties of the resultant lining.
A soil or other growing material is then placed within the lining for supporting the roots of plantings. It is desirable in these horticultural applications to retain a desirable amount of water in the area of the plant roots while allowing for air to flow into that same area.
In response to the need for greater consistency and efficiency in making these baskets, several preformed liners have been developed for use with these baskets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,191 teaches a preformed liner for use in a wire hanging basket. The liner is formed of a fibrous material and has a water controlling material embedded therein. This patent teaches that the liner is formed by joining two halves of the water controlling material at a seam which runs laterally across the center of the liner. The seam extends from one end of a top peripheral surface to another end of the top peripheral surface such that the liner is formed of two symmetrical halves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,193 also teaches a liner for a horticultural hanging pot which has water retention features. This patent discloses a liner formed of several layers including a hemp cloth layer, a super absorbent polymer powder layer, a peat moss powder layer, a jute liner, and a porous plastic film layer. All layers, including the porous plastic layer which serves to retain water, extend over the entire surface of the liner. Therefore, when installed, the porous plastic layer extends all the way to the top peripheral surface of the basket thus having the capability to retain water up to this top peripheral edge.
A problem exists in that both these designs allow for overfilling of the liner which may prevent adequate air flow therethrough. Each of these liners attempt to mitigate the over watering problem by allowing for passage of water through essentially the bottom end of the basket.
A liner for use in a horticultural planter according to the present invention contains an integral water tray which is located between inner and outer fibrous layers of a liner. The water tray extends from a bottom surface of the liner to a peripheral top edge. The water tray is integral with the liner and located between outer and inner fibrous layers. The water tray extends also from the bottom surface to a peripheral edge which is spaced apart from the peripheral top edge of the liner. An overflow region is therefore formed between the peripheral top edge of the liner and the peripheral edge of the water tray.